See The World

[Deleted]

Lang brushed his long hair out of his eyes, pushing his glasses up his nose. The young wolf-shifter could see the skyline of Jump in the distance. It's been a few days on the road since the last city and his funds were running low. His plan was just to stay a couple of days, get a crappy job, then move on. Rinse and repeat.

It's been a hard couple of months. He had to think about a few things. His life was a lie. He wasn't even human. His Grandfather, he was a superhero. Plus there was the whole "I have to worry about fleas and do magic" thing. It's enough to throw anyone into a metaphysical spiral. He needed to sort some things out. He just wasn't so sure how long that would take.

He kicked a rock down the road, listening to it click and clack down the streets, a passing 18-wheeler highlighting the rocks journey. The teen turned around and held up his thumb. Hoping the truck would slow down. To his disappointment the truck kept going. Picking up his pace he shuffled to the rock and pitched the rock like a baseball. "No please! Keep going, I like walking alone at night on a highway..." he scowled as it started to drizzle "in the rain. Sky and Stone, aren't you supposed to wait until I say 'It could be worse?" the shapeshifter shouted to no one in particular, raising his arms dramatically.

[Deleted]

Mimic left the Tower to blow off some steam and he tended to do so by transforming into a vehicle and just driving around as a driverless car. Mimic did this because being only thirteen years old he was much too young to drive a car, so there was no way the Titans would allow him to drive say the T-car or any of the motorcycles. So to escape all these no’s he received from his friends he would spend much of his free time in his room, staring at car magazines of the latest, hottest rides and get ideas of what he should turn into next. Fellow car lover Beast Boy was surely envious of Mimic’s ability to become any car he wanted so long as he has a picture of it. Going thru his car magazine Mimic chose to become the latest sportscar complete with a large, over-exaggerated spoiler, a bright blue in color with lime-green flames on both sides. Unable to wait and ask any of his fellow Titans if they want to accompany him on a ride around the city, Mimic rushed out the Tower’s front door, magazine of his dream car in hand.

Once outside the Tower he flew across the mass of water using his rocket boots and landed in a large parking lot. ‘Perfect,’ thought Mimic with a sly grin. Besides his rocket boots he was completely out of uniform. Setting his magazine down he transformed into the latest sportscar complete with a large, over-exaggerated spoiler, a bright blue in color with lime-green flames on both sides. While in this form Mimic was able to talk by using the car’s radio. Pulling out of the parking lot Mimic in his car form drove off. But, Mimic knew he had to be careful. The last thing he wanted to do was get pulled over for speeding then again that might actually be amusing. The police would no doubt believe him to be a possessed car and run for their lives once they saw no driver. But no, he didn’t want that kind of attention because that could bring the whole media down his butt. Nah, best to play it safe, Mimic reminded himself as he drove along the highway along with all the other cars. Since his windows were tinted nobody could tell he was driverless.

Back, to playing it safe Mimic had a CB radio and as luck would have it he spotted a large semi coming from the opposite direction. He knew of all the vehicles in his proximity the semi would have a CB. He would grin if he could, but in car form he couldn’t. “Hey little blue to big eighteen any smokies in the area from once you came?” asked Mimic using the CB radio. He must have got the right signal cause the trucker only laughed in reply. “No, no smokies here. You’re all clear except for the sudden rain. You continue in the direction you’re headed you’re liable to run into it,” the trucker warned. Mimic frowned. It started off as such a nice, clear day and now it was raining. Just his luck it seemed. “This is little blue, you sure about that?” “Positive. Big eighteen over and out.”

Mimic continued in the same direction and sure enough rain met him; which struck him as odd since behind him was all clear. But as fate would have it just up ahead of him stood a lone figure holding out his arms. Now Mimic had his qualms about picking up hitchhikers. However, he felt confident that if it came down to it he could fight this guy off. After all, he had powers and was barely human anymore. This in mind Mimic pulled over to the side of the road for the guy to get in without really thinking that this stranger might have reservations of climbing into a driverless vehicle. Mimic rolled down his window. “Get in,” he simply told the hitchhiker using the car’s radio to speak. Said radio of course made him sound a lot older than he really was. It made him sound like an adult when in reality he was only thirteen. Mimic had made the mistake of making it sound like an order. It was sometimes difficult for him to think clearly when in another form.

ooc: Hope no one minds I replied to this. And yep that trucker npc I had Mimic converse with is the same one that left poor Ghostdance behind. Hope my reply isn't too ridiculous.

[Deleted]

Lang growled to himself as the rock missed the target. Stopping for a second he took a deep breath and collected his thoughts, not letting his temper get the best of him. "Bah, It's not that far away." he told himself out loud. "I need to stop being a baby about it." he grunted, mostly to his sore feet. "Just a few more hours and I'll be there."

Adjusting his square rimmed glasses he looked up at the sky "Plus it's not all that bad, just a bit of drizzle." he said, enjoying his self-made company as rain splattered on his glasses.

"Gorram, I just need to stop." he mumbled, huffing to accompany the nerdy explicative. Taking off his glasses to clean as he walked.

It was then that a green car pulled up next to him, making the teen slow his pace just a little bit. Peeping in the window was a bit of a surprise however. He heard Jump was a strange place but he wasn't expecting this. "I'd hate to be the guy who look a gift horse in the mouth. But you look a bit empty on the inside there KITT." he snarks, raising his eyebrows.

Leaning back after checking in the window he puts on his glasses and takes a deep breath. Alright, spirit sight, I can do this. I just need to have a bit of will, guide the energy in my body. He thought to himself as he clumsily gathered the energy. Ghostdance or not, he was still new to this. Got it! he thought to himself, flicking open his eyes. The irises change from the normal brown to a bright, predatory, golden-yellow.

The world was a lot different when you looked at it with spirit sight. Made made things seemed slightly muted most of the time. The only exceptions were if they had something supernatural going on. Ghost could be seen, magical items had their own auras, but this was brighter, vibrant. It was the same thing that all living things did, from flower to human. This car was a living creature. If it was something supernatural he couldn't tell what it was off the top of his head. "Plus my Mom told me never to take rides from strange living cars that may or may not try and eat me. Well it was strangers, but same sentiment."

[Deleted]

Mimic sportscar got a better look at the hitchhiker. From the looks of him he definitely was not from around Jump City. At the strange boy’s words Mimic sportscar’s headlights simply blinked in confusion. “KITT? What does that even mean?” he asked, confused.

Mimic then watched as the boy’s eyes began to change color and past experience has told him that it’s typical for those with powers. “I knew it,” Mimic hissed accusingly, “you are not a normal teenager. Just what is it you think you are trying to do to me with those sneaky eyes of yours?” Mimic’s past has caused him to be overtly paranoid and suspicious of everyone. Mimic began to reverse as the boy looked at him with his odd colored eyes and he would have taken off too, but the boy spoke again and his next words made him laugh.

“Kid, have you not ever seen a shapeshifter before? I’m no ghost if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m just basically cruising around in this form to blow off some steam and it was nicer earlier. Didn’t mean to scare you or anything. Look, you getting in or not? But, if you prefer to stand out in the rain and cold all day don’t let me stop you from having your little fun,” Mimic teased. The car’s door then flew open from Ghostdance to enter. “Come on, I don’t bite…much,” Mimic joked with a laugh. “Kidding Kidding. But seriously though if you come in I’ll take you where you need to go. Just name the place and I can get you there quickly. Oh by the way I hope you don’t find me creepy for asking, but uh where are you from anyway?” Mimic offered.

[Deleted]

Lang let out a rather too canine canine growl from his very much human mouth. "Normal? Says you Lightning McQueen. You trying to start something?" He grunted and clinching his fist. He really didn't like the implication. It made him feel like a monster. He has spent most of his life believing he was human. And to be fair, he still thought he was. He knew that he was suppose to be some supernatural peacekeeper. But the claws and teeth said monster. Watching American Werewolf in London at the last truck stop diner probably didn't help.

Realizing his temper was getting the best of him he took a deep breath and snapped a rubber band on his wrist ten times. It was something an anger management book suggested once and to be fair, it did help. "Uh, sorry, I got a lot on my plate. Like a whole buffet. A Vegas sized... you get the idea. Point is I know you're not a ghost and I may have met a shapeshifters or two in my day."

All I have to do is look into the mirror. he thought to himself, before wondering why the hell was he pouring his heart to a car.

As the door flew upon for him Lang frowned and thought about whether the risk was really worth it. On one hand this could be a really stupid trap he was wandering blindly. He was warned there would be people trying to kill him now. On the other hand, this could be a genuine offer, or something just strange enough to stick his nose into. Deciding it was worth the investigation. He tosses his duffle bag and backpack into the passenger seat. "You try anything Christine-ish and I swear, faster than you can say 'Lindsey Lohan on a bender' I'll make you regret it. Got it Herbie?" he huffs, flopping into the drivers seat.

"I dunno where in the city to go. I've never been to Jump before. Here, you take me to someplace you think is safe and I'll answer some questions truthfully, provided I don't find them too intrusive. I deserve my privacy. Plus I used up all my talking car jokes already." he huffed, a bit annoyed at the last part.

"That one I can do. Recently? Seattle. Before that, North Carolina. There are other places in between the two and before NC, but I liked those." he admitted truthfully, buckling the seat belt.

[Deleted]

If Mimic could frown as a car he would have. “Lightning McQueen? Who…who is that? Or is that a name of some sort of fancy street racer? If so can you tell me how to contact him? I’m a big fan of racing, you see and cars,” inquired a rather childhood movie deprived Mimic. Having been abducted for much of his life by aliens and corrupt ringmasters alike certainly kept the young teen in the dark about many things. There were still many Earth things he did not understand. Although, he seemed to know more than Starfire and his speech for the most part was better, but like the Tamaranean princess English was not his best language. But since Ghostdance obviously had no way of knowing this Mimic no doubt must have appeared either naïve or ignorant.

Mimic then watched as the elder boy was contently hitting his own wrist with a rubber band. Mimic not understand what such an exercise represented eyed him carefully. He felt that this boy was about to attack him as he viewed the whole rubber band exercise as a pre-fighting habit, you know something to do instead of cracking one’s knuckles and neck. So Mimic mentally prepared himself for a fight. But when the hitchhiker did not make a threatening move towards him Mimic listened to his next words. Wait, he was apologizing? Indeed, he was. Vegas? That word, did sound familiar… But what did it mean? He would have inquired the hitchhiker about it, but he was much too proud to admit ignorance of something that apparently everybody else understood. If Mimic as a car could grin he would have. “Well, that is what I am, a shapeshifter though it was not my choice to be one… Had it been up to me I would have chose to be as you say the normal. Being me is nothing, but trouble!” He said getting a bit emotional at the end. He calmed himself down.

Then car Mimic felt a duffel bag being tossed in the backseat causing him to giggle a bit. “That tickles!” he said. But then he stopped laughing as the boy threw more ‘alien’ words at him that he did not understand. He couldn’t take it anymore, he had to know what this older boy was referencing! “Christine-ish, Lindsey Lohan, Herbie? Eh? Who are those people and why do you insist on making these strange references of people I know nothing about?” He demanded, clearly more confused than offended. By this time he was pretty frustrated at himself for knowing so little of the normal human ways. Then surprisingly his hitchhiker inadvertently answered his question concerning the references. “Talking car jokes? Wait, you mean to tell me this whole time you were tossing names of other shapeshifters my way? Cool. Can I meet them? I know there are lots of shapeshifters like Beast Boy running around, but very few of them are like me and can turn into inanimate objects. If it is not too much trouble I’d very much like to meet some of them…” Mimic excitedly responded believing this guy must have held his abilities in high regard to be spewing names of what he believed to be fellow shapeshifters.

A small smile crossed his face. “Deal and luckily for you I know the best place! Hold on, we’ll be there in no time!” Mimic said retuning to the highway. He then drove off with the elder boy at a high speed. Mimic of course planned on taking the older boy to Titans Tower he just prayed the others wouldn’t mind him bringing home a stranger. But, in the shapeshifter’s mind if this guy was truly was a villain he would have attacked him by now. Besides, Ink brought back people to the Tower all the time, so Mimic figured if she could recruit people then why couldn’t he? Mimic may not have known the true nature of this guy’s powers, but he did sense he had some. After all his eyes were unusual and the way he had looked at him before… Mimic skidded in and out of traffic at high speeds, clearly showing off to his passenger. The other drivers got out of his way though. “I hope you like it. It’s a good place to live. Not telling you where I’m taking you though. It’s a surprise. Name’s Max, but my friends call me Mimic due to my shapeshifting abilities. What’s yours?” revealed Mimic not really thinking the dangers of keeping such secrets such as their current destination from his paranoid passenger.

ooc: Sorry for taking so long to reply and yes due to being a prisoner to aliens for so long there is much that Mimic has forgotten and does not know such as children's movies...

[Deleted]

Lang was more than a little bit disappointed that none of his nervously made quips landed. "You're, uh, not from around here are you?" he asked the very strange car "These guys' aren't shapeshifters or racers. They're talking cars from movies, books, and TV. People reference popular culture because it's just that. Popular. It's a common reference point for every one involved more times than not. I didn't mean any offence. Like I said, I can be grumpy." he explained in a lecturing tone.

"And uh, you know Beast Boy? You must have some connections then." as a non-native of Jump he had heard his share of stories about the Teen Titans. But they were just that, stories. Even if they were in newspapers. You read about them or saw them on the news and then went on with your day. Everywhere had their supers that they bragged about. Keystone had the Green Arrow. Metropolis had Superman, and Gotham had the whole Bat Family and then some. But jump was weird with the Titans. They were all people around his age, working and living together. He had to admit part of it appealed to him.

It was about then when Mimic took off at high speed, making the other shapeshifter cling to the seat "Sky and Stone!" he exclaimed in surprise, digging his fingers into the expensive looking seat at the sudden turn to NASCAR-esc driving. "Me I-I'm um, Lang. I mean Ghostdance." He said, clinging to the wheel. It wasn't the speeds he was worried about, it was the traffic. Normally he would have worried about the mystery destination, but the sudden peal off was a little distracting.

[Deleted]

Mimic mentally kicked himself at his passenger’s explanation. Truly, he felt like an idiot now. He really should have known better than to assume that those names his passenger used were the names of fellow shapeshifters or racers. But Mimic could hardly be mad at the guy since he apologized. He would let it go since he was in a forgiving mood.

Trying to act as though he wasn’t too bothered at the stranger’s correction Mimic put on his best figurative mask and forced a laugh when confronted about not being from Jump originally. “Is it that obvious? Well, you would be right. I’m not from Jump originally. Hmmm…well actually I am, but that was so very long ago. I…I barely remember those days. But, I will not discuss such things with you. Nothing personal, okay? I just don’t like talking about it. Just know I have been away from Jump for a long, long time and only returned recently,” answered Mimic. “And I’m sure we can all understand that. Even I can get grumpy sometimes,” added Mimic reassuringly.

At the stranger’s next question Mimic just laughed. It was a genuine laugh. “I hope I know him. After all, he’s only like one of my new friends and…teammates. I’ll introduce you. You’ll like him. He’s funny although he can be pretty childish at times,” Mimic revealed, pretty much insinuating that he was a member of the Teen Titans.

As his speeds increased he heard his passenger cry out in surprise. Although, he wasn’t sure what the phrase, ‘Sky and Stone’ met he laughed. “Hey, you okay back there?” he asked amidst his giggles. “And please tell me of this sky and stone? Is it a place? A park that has rides?” inquired Mimic, obviously the poor shapeshifter knew nothing of phrases and sayings. It was at that time his passenger finally introduced himself. “Ghostdance, eh? Interesting… That your alias name? And I take it you prefer I call you Ghostdance rather than Lang? Cool with me. Like I said you can either call me Max or Mimic. Doesn’t really matter to me,” replied Mimic as the super fast car pulled to the side of the large mass of water that surrounded the T-Tower.

Smiling to himself Mimic said, “welcome to Titans Tower, safest place in all the city. You can get out now and I’ll introduce you to everybody!”

[Deleted]

Not even in the city and I've already came across a Titan. he thought to himself, half-amused at the whole situation. One of the main reasons he decided to visit Jump City was to see what the Titans were like in action. I mean if anyone knew what it was like to be in his situation it would be them. He wasn't exactly sure he wanted to meet them though. He was thinking more of doing his thing as an outside observer.

A million questions raced through his brain in a familiar social panic. What if they attacked him? He was kinda a monster...thing. What if they told the Justice League about him? What if Batman attacked him? His mind constructed increasingly unlikely situations. The dominant logical part of his brain reassured him that this was highly unlikely and just him being nervous.

But I tell you what though. Keeping a secret identity is a chore and a half.

"Yeah, just forget I even said Lang. It's better for everyone if you do." he grunts, feeling relieved that they finally slowed down near the tower. "However if you want me to meet your friends I have to do something first."

Without a word Lang started kicking off his shoes and socks before collecting them and stuffing it into his bag. With a deep centering breath he muttered "Uwelugv". In a split second, the seemingly human boy was cloaked in blue-white-ish light. It first glance it looked like fire. However it moved differently, like it was made of smoke. It also felt cold to the touch, like an October morning. His clothed seemed unaffected by the light, staying in place unburnt and unsinged

The light reformed to a slightly more canine shape to it, his eyes changing to back once more to a golden yellow. Lang could feel a strength fill him as a light covered tail extended from behind him through a conveniently cut hole in the jeans. The light burst off from his body in a small pulse of magic, harmlessly fading away as Ghostdance got use to the flood of new smells and sounds assaulting his body. It still was a bit weird in this form for him. It still took him a second to recognize himself in the mirror like this.

Maybe that would come in time.

Grabbing his bags the shapeshiter hoisted himself out of the car. "So uh, what now?" He asked, not looking much of a superhero in Green flannel, jeans, a wool-lined denim jacket, and square framed glasses. His tail wagged behind him lowly, ears pushed back at a slight angel in nervousness. Realizing what his tail was doing he willed it to stop with a nervous fangy half-grin.

[Deleted]

For what seemed like several moment was silence as Ghostdance became unusually quiet. Max figured the guy needed to take a few moments to wrap his mind away the fact that he just met a Teen Titan even if he wasn’t one of the original five. “You okay back there?” asked Max, breaking the silence. At this Ghostdance informed him that he needed to do something. “Eh, okay, what is it?” inquired Max, curious. He wondered if his poor passenger had gotten the car sick along the way here and needed to cough up whatever he ate that day (just Max’s way of saying, throwing up). It wouldn’t surprise him if his passenger needed to as he admitted they were going pretty fast. But the stranger acted like he was in a big ass hurry and at the same time the inanimate object shapeshifter wanted to show off. But it wasn’t any of that.

Rather than throwing up, the guy said a single, solitary word, one that Max did not understand at all. “Uwelugv? What does that mean?” he asked, curious. As a car Max could not see his passenger in the back, so he kind of missed out on Ghostdance’s magical transformation along with the bright light surrounding him. Still, the car sensed something was happening. “Hey, what…what’s going on back there?” he asked, getting worried.

The car felt as Ghostdance got out, however. But upon seeing his passenger once again Max was more than a little taken aback by Ghostdance’s more canine like appearance. Still, when his alien breath did not go off Max trusted that his passenger could not be an alien. If not an alien then what was he? He definitely was not a human. He did, however, resemble a wolf like creature that he saw in a comic book Beast Boy showed him the other day. What did the green shifter call it called again? Oh yeah, a werewolf. But then Max remembered a very important fact about werewolves that Beast Boy pointed out to him and that was werewolves change into their wolfish form during a full moon and by the looks of things it was still daylight. Then Max thought that being a supernatural creature expert Beast Boy could probably tell him what Ghostdance was should Ghostdance object to telling him. Either way Max tried his best to remain civil. After all, he did pick up Ghostdance and invite him to the T-Tower. It would be really rude if he backed out now. At least he’s not an alien, thought Max happily.

“You’re not human!” shouted Max, stating the obvious. Max quickly realized how such an accusing toned and hypocritical statement must have sounded to the poor wolf guy. He facepalmed himself, ‘really Mimic? Is that the best you can come up with? Come on, you can do better than that,’ he scolded himself. ‘It is no wonder you don’t have any friends.’ Max already feeling bad changed tactics. “I mean I’m sorry. I realize I’m not being a very good host here. But um if you don’t mind my asking, what exactly are you? In this one supernatural comic Beast Boy has there is a picture of something that kind of looks like you. I believe they called it a werewolf, but they only change form during a full moon…” Max apologized, trying to sound nicer.

At the other shapeshifter’s question the mischievous car just smiled to itself. “Well, there are only two ways across the water. The first being we take the underground tunnel. That is how we get the T-car out and how the non fliers and non swimmers get across or the fun way: we fly! Your choice though since you are the guest, my guest…” Max offered.

[Deleted]

The wolf man shivered slightly as he felt the pulse of magic slowly faded away, his midnight blue and snow white slightly scruffy fur bristling up a bit. Clearing his throat he pushed back his glasses on his face. His nose wiggling as some instinctive part in the back of his brain instructed him to smell his new surroundings. He could almost taste the salt of the sea as he looked at the tower in the distance. A lone sentinel in the distance.

Ghostdance looked back over his shoulder at the car. His feral yellow eyes looking back at the fancy car from behind his glasses. "M-me? Human? Oh, um, well I...uh, that's kinda complicated." he says with a small tiny shrug. "But I can tell you for damn sure, I'm no werewolf." he said with a grunt. "Werewolf implies by name a very Eurocentric concept. And while it may be arguing semantics, but perhaps the better blanket term for wolf shapeshifters as a whole would be lycanthrope." he started to explain in a slightly excited manner. "Werewolves actually in itself refers to a group of creatures, usually transforming under the influence of of potions, lotions, belts, and the occasional curse and dark pact. Oddly enough, did you know that the full moon had little to nothing to do with the werewolf mythos outside of the occasional odd ritual before the Universal Studios movie, The Wolf Man? I mean there is this one from Russia that involves an iron knife, back flips, and a poem...but that's um, besides the point." he explains with a furrowed brow and broad gestures of his clawed hands. Truthfully he wouldn't seem out of place in front of a blackboard. "Anyways, I have this theory that it may be that the response at least partially psychosomatic due to this cultural engraving and associations we have."

The wolf flickered his ears "Uh, sorry I ramble sometimes. I'm not a werewolf, what I am translates to Wolf-Person. Say what you want about originality but at least it's honest." Looking back to see if any of it sunk in.

"But um, I think I would rather take the tunnel." he said with a forced friendly wag of his fluffy tail and a slight nervous stutter.

[Kenni]

He had been watching them for the past 10 minutes from behind a tree, trying to make sense of what was happening.

A soft padding of grass that would be sensible to the boy with the newly enhanced hearing, now entered the clearing.

The maker of the barely distinguishable noise had his hands behind his back, breathing somewhat ragged and jerky as the teen had hardly finished his daily workout, when suddenly, it had begun to rain on his jogging ginger head. A soggy white muscle-shirted, domino-masked Titan in green shorts and sneakers, approached what appeared to be a...talking car, and the answering passenger that had just alighted.
The talking boy...who had just morphed into a...hind-foot-standing...blue and white furred...being?!

Although he had met Max briefly, he had only seen him as his human form. Speedy wasn't too sure about his power set yet, so assumed the passenger had either driven the sweet ride in himself, or done away with the driver, as he couldn't see anyone at the front there.

Was he bound and gagged in the trunk...?

Speedy gripped his waterbottle a bit tighter.

Yes, Lang provided an even greater mystery to the East Titan, with the transformation he'd just witnessed. Still, while curious and cautionary, he hardly wanted to give the mystery-being yonder a reason to round on him. He would have to make non-threatening small-talk until his pulse normalized again, and he could start leading him away form the secret entrance to Robin's base of operations' garage by the secret tunnel they were standing so close to, Speedy thought, unawares. If whoever was in the driver's seat, and this morphing dude were just civilians, they would listen to a man in a mask. People had some respect for the Teen Titans in this city.

Then again, they might just be enemies.

Cyborg's security systems had gone on the fritz before, with him away on some kind of extended mission from his core team; substituting for Titanpower was the main reason Speedy had taken up living in Jump in the first place.

Welcome to Titan's Tower, the nearly safest place in Jump City.

His eyes following the fluffy-guy's enthusiastically wagging tail in astonishment, the boy cleared his throat, and ventured a greeting, now mere feet from Ghostdance. Speedy stretched his shoulders at his elbows in front of his chest, in case he had to defend himself in a second, or call backup from his T.Comm.

"Sooo, you already know about the tunnel, do you? Great! All I have to ask now, is how." smiled the archer, preparing for a sprung attack in retaliation to his voice, even though unbeknownst to him, Lang's senses must have picked up on his presence, if not his sweat, by now.

[Deleted]

Mimic didn’t mentally prepare himself well enough for the lovely, rather confusing mini rant sized explanation that came next. He just stared at Ghostdance the whole time with a, ‘what the fuck?’ expression on his face. When he asked the simple question, ‘what exactly are you?’ he really wasn’t expecting all of this. Still, it was interesting and certainly intriguing even though he didn’t full understand all the wolf guy before him was saying. However, from said mini rant it was quite clear now to Max that Ghostdance was no werewolf, but a wolf person and that the moon apparently had nothing to do with werewolves transforming. Interesting… He would need to inform the green shapeshifter of this at once. In his mind, Beast Boy should be informed that his comics are incorrect.

Max couldn’t help, but be glad that Ghostdance finished his ramblings an actually answered his question finally. “Wait, wait psycho what now?” questioned Mimic now confused by the word, ‘psychosomatic.’ Max then nodded as wolf boy apologized for going on so much. “Nah, it’s fine really. It may have been…long, but it was interesting,” replied the car. “The tunnel it is then. You get air sick, eh?” the car teasingly asked smiling to itself.

Mimic was just about to invite his guest back in when a random older teenager wearing a gang logo walked by. He stopped short upon seeing a wolf person chatting it up with…his car. The boy’s eyes blinked. Truly Jump was full crazy and weird things, but talking cars and wolf people were a bit much for the guy. And yet the punk wanted to appear brave to the wolf person. “Well, well what have we got here?” began the teenaged punk in a mocking tone. “Looks, like I got myself a hairy brother here chatting it up with his car. What’s the matter pal? Lonely cause no chick will ever go out with someone that looks like you?” teased the jerky teen, laughing. Then pulling out his keys he strolled over to Mimic car. “Well, you know what I say to that? Got a mighty fine looking ride here my brother. Be a real shame if something were to happen to it. So she got a name or what?” the jerk went on as he got a little too close to Mimic’s driver’s door for comfort. Truly the teen was angering Mimic to no end. Mimic glanced over back at Ghostdance then at the jerky stranger. There was no way these two could be related. So, why was this guy calling Ghostdance his brother? That really confused the inanimate object shapeshifter to no end. But this was hardly the time to be asking questions. It was taking all of his mental power and energy to keep himself from running this idiot over.

But maybe he should have because what the jerk did next could have been prevented. Laughing like a nut, the jerky teen started scratching Mimic’s side door with his keys. Now, Mimic may be unable to die in object form, but that did not mean he could not feel pain. The car actually yelled out in pain as the keys scratched it causing the older boy to stare dumbfounded at the car. ‘What in the world…?’ thought the boy. But before the teen could say anything more or do anything Mimic’s car door opened wide hitting the guy in the gut. “I am no she and the name’s Mimic you piece of scum!” the car shouted angrily. Eyes widening the older teen started backing away pointing at the car. “Dude, your car…your car’s alive! It…it’s freakin’ possessed man! I’m out of here!” screamed the teen as he took off running.

“Good riddance!” Mimic shouted after the guy. “And I’m not a ghost!” cried the car as it began to transform. A bright white light occurred and soon where there once stood a car now stood a young boy with a nasty looking cut on his arm. In pain, he held his arm. Even though this was the very first time wolf boy saw him as a human Max, embarrassed from the pin stripe incident didn’t look at him right away. The boy wore fingered sandy brown colored fighting gloves along with rocket boots. As for clothing he wore a red t-shirt with a black vest, dark blue pants and a light blue hoodie. The young teen's eyes were a pure white and he didn't have any pupils. After a few moments of silence Max at last broke it.

“I would have preferred you hadn’t seen that,” he said, still embarrassed. “I apologize for the…distraction. We’ll go thru the tunnel in a minute. Just need a minute here…” he whispered, voice trailing off.

Then to make things even more awkward for him Speedy showed up. At his question Max just glared at the ginger while still holding his injured arm. “Why I told him of course,” he stated as though that was obvious. “That is to say I er invited him to the Tower. I figured the Titans could always use an extra recruit and well he seemed the capable sort and well he said he needed a safe place to go, so I just thought… I didn’t think it would be a big deal since Ink recruits people all the time. If she’s allowed then why can’t I?” Max explained. He’d rather the ginger not see his arm, so he did his best to keep it hidden from him. Then a thought occurred… Frowning he asked, “erm Speedy exactly how long have you been in our proximity?” He and Speedy didn’t know each other very well. Really, all he did know of the ginger was his name and that he uses a bow well in combat. Oh and that he liked to flirt with Raven a lot. But he didn’t know much more than that. If Speedy had been standing around watching them secretly for awhile then no telling what all he saw. Most likely he saw everything though the young shapeshifter hoped he didn’t.

ooc: Hope nobody minds I had Max turn back into a human before Speedy arrived, but I wanted to add in that npc to show what happened when Max as an object gets scratched or what have you.

[Deleted]

Ghostdance glared at the gang member passing by "You're an insufferable idiot. Look at me. I am an inhuman entity talking to a car in front of Titans Tower. This either means one of two things. I am an active superhero or I'm a very angry supervillian planning something. Either way do you think that makes it a very smart plan to try and taunt me? Run away before the car and I make you." he said giving a rumbling growl that would sound at home from the jaws of Cerberus himself as he dropped his bags, cracking his neck in a dramatic manner as the jerk ran off.

When Mimic transformed back he picked up a slightly metallic coppery scent in the air. "You have absolutely nothing to apologize about Mimic. It is Mimic right?" he asked softly as he dug in his bag for something. His ears flickered as he caught the smell of something else "You, guy who had a chili dog for lunch, extra onions. Do you have any clean water on you?" he asks at Speedy's direction without looking back. With a grunt of success he pulls out one of his one of his undershirt, ripping it easily with his razor sharp claws and enhanced strength into neat strips.

Not bothering to look back he flickers his ears gently, finding his own unopened bottled water. "Never mind I got it." he said, too focused on Mimic. "Arm." he more or less commanded with a sharp look. Despite the harshness of the look there was a bit of soft concern behind it. Not waiting for an answer or response he held it firm and in place with one paw "This might sting a bit, but I'm gonna clean this up and apply a bandage. It's the best thing I can do unless you want to bleed for the next five hours while I chant." he explains softly, pouring some water on one or the strips and gently dabbing clean the wound of blood before taking another strips and wrapping the wound "It should at least keep some pressure on it and keep it from getting infected." he said matter-of-factly "Or, um it should. I haven't really had many chances to apply my knowledge luckily. I'd still suggest getting someone better than be to look at it at least."

"And I'll answer for him, creeper has been eyeing us out since we pulled up. He's been exercisin' so he's sweating all over the place. Plus the heavy breathing and rustling in the grass like a gosh darn rabbit with a bad case of the nerves." he explained, finally turning around to face the archer. "I don't want to cause any trouble however. So, just lemme grab my bags. Wado for the ride though." he grunts with a polite nod of thanks to Mimic.

[Kenni]

The gang loser incident had come and go so fast, that the recovering jogger didn’t have time to react. So much for being ‘Speedy’.
It had more to do with where his attentions lay at the moment, perhaps, eyes still ‘tailing’ Ghostdance’s tail...

Speedy stood paused, mid-stretch.
Why was he so hung up on the talking dog-man?


He’d been so transfixed by the notion of a talking, walking wolf--or perhaps his attention had been strangely fixed by the tail-wagging; after a good jog, the boy needed a little while to refocus and anything that got in the way of such became an automatic distraction—he almost missed Max’s morphing back into a human.
He’d known the guy was a shape shifter ever since the car had pulled up towards the secret tunnel entrance after all..
..the car that was now transforming into a young boy?!

”Gee, so that explains the Nitro 3000 Shock Series in our front yard. You turn into any other sick rides I should know about?”
Speedy whistled low in admiration as he did a few squats, his hands behind his head, the picture of ridiculousness, and addressed the newly revealed Max, still not completely clear on his powers, but at a start. The younger boy’s trailing, nervous explanation was making the East Titan drowsy; he waved him off, willing him to stop.
”Alright~already! Got it; new recruit, no threat. You just wanted a crack at the whole lost-puppy routine Ink got rolling...” The puppy quip was out of his mouth before he could even plan it. Lang’s presence and that mesmerizing tail were making the weary ginger’s mind work all on its own.
However, as he took note of Max’s injury and stepped forward to examine it further, wolf-guy took command. Not only that, but his barking was interlaced with caustically-toned insults.

Well, less insults, and more like general observations that no normal human being could have picked up on from the distance Speedy had been crouching from the two, especially after his decent showering, courtesy of the rainfall. He checked his breath rather self-consciously, but couldn’t help grinning.

The scariest thing was this guy knew what the ginger had eaten hours ago for lunch!
Veritable bloodhound, this one!
That stopped Speedy in his tracks.

Speedy could only bark back in short bursts of laughter at this newbie with the attitude.
“HAH! HAH! Is..is that you, Raven? Did you grow a coat for the winter or what! Mongrel’s got a mouth on him I see!” Speedy grinned as the tunnel entrance rose to ground level. He had whipped his Communicator from the drawstring pack slung diagonally over his back, to punch in the code for the entrance as he insulte—er, greeted Lang.
The lupine teen had just been talking at Speedy like Raven used to when he’d just been transferred over to Titans Main, and that struck a chord of fondness with the ginger, as convoluted as it sounded.

Anyway, he’d seen the quick thinking and concern for Max just now. Anyone as quick and genuinely concerned for his fellow man to the point of ruining his wardrobe in the name of first aid couldn’t be a villain.

”Well, you gonna stand out here all day? Wet dog is insufferable; who knows when the rain’ll pick up again. Name’s Speedy. What do you go by, young pup?” he offered a hand to shake, remembering the ‘Mongrel’ comment and trying to make amends in a sense, reaching over to give the kid light noogie.

”And spare me the sight of rusted chrome! How terrible! Let’s get you inside and have Raven or whoever finish up on that arm for ya.” Speedy nodded thanks to Lang, wondering after the strange word ‘Wado’, sounding like ‘Thank you’ in context, not recognizing it as a Navajo word and thus mildly interested in what it meant, being a language nut. He had aimed the comment at Max however, as though his skin’s chemical make-up were that of a vehicle’s, too, before leading the way into the Tower.